Outdoor Class Under the Lilac Tree

Yesterday, July 18, 2020 I held my first class since cancelling them in March due to the pandemic - but I held it outside and the number of students was capped at 2.

What an enjoyable class.  I think we were all glad to see actual people.  It was so hard not to hug everyone.  A virtual hug just doesn't do it!!

I decided to hold the class outside for precautionary reasons.  It was a lot of work as all surfaces and supplies that would be used had to be disinfected. Students were asked to bring masks in case they needed to enter the house for any reason, and each student was given a small bottle of hand sanitizer.  The students sat across from each other rather than side by side as research shows that this reduces the spread of any potential viruses.  There have been no cases of COVID here in Peterborough for at least a month, but one needs to stay alert.  To ensure the class was as contactless as possible, students were asked to bring their own supplies, from adhesives to trimmer to stamparatus.

It turned out to be a very hot and humid day, so the tent really helped.  Every once in a while a lovely breeze  blew the papers around a bit, but no one minded. A cardinal tweeted over head, and children could be heard playing in the next yard. Air conditioners turned on and off but we were so intent on creating we heard none of the latter.

What was the focus of the class?

A special request was made to create a card featuring a sunset over water, so that was part of the class.  However the main focus was the Blossoms and Blooms stamp set.  Below are the two cards that were made using the Blossoms and Blooms bundle.

And because it was so hot it was important to stay hydrated.

The 3rd card featured a sunset over water, and the By the Bay stamp set was used.  This was the first time these gals had ever used the sponge brayer, and they were surprised at how much fun it was.  I demonstrated how to made the sunset and then they created their own.  Instead of the boat, they chose to use the dock.
They found that this card was quite easy to make if they did not try to CASE my card, but free style their own, They were shown how to make white caps on the waves using texture paste.

 At the end of the class, each student was given a decorated copper tin with a thank you note in it, as well as a package of embellishments and 2 rolls of ribbon. You can see the packages on the edge of the table. Below is a close up:

There are requests for another outdoor class.